Benjamin Godfrey

Benjamin Godfrey (December 4, 1794 – August 13, 1862) was an American merchant and philanthropist from Massachusetts who is known for his work in the Illinois region.

Running away to Ireland at a young age, Godfrey worked on ships in his early life, eventually commanding his own.

This vessel was wrecked off the coast of Mexico, but Godfrey found wealth in a trading house in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

He moved to Alton, Illinois, where he co-founded a successful complex of groceries in the region with Winthrop Sargent Gilman.

Godfrey became involved with the Presbytery and established Monticello Seminary for women, now known as Lewis and Clark Community College.

Godfrey later commanded his own ship, establishing trading routes from Baltimore, Maryland to New Orleans, Louisiana and the West Indies.

In the fall of 1837, Gilman, a supporter of abolition, agreed to allow editor Elijah Parish Lovejoy to hide a newly acquired press for his newspaper Alton Observer, and abolitionist materials in the warehouse of Godfrey & Gilman in Alton.

Lovejoy was fatally shot in the confrontation, a man named Bishop in the mob also was killed, and the warehouse was burned to the ground.